Bluefish watch

Published 2:55 pm, Thursday, September 3, 2009

BIG NIGHT, BIG FINISH? -- For Luis Lopez, looking back on his 4-for-4 night Wednesday didn't remind him so much about that past as it did his Bridgeport Bluefish team's future.

"I was able to come up with some big hits in key situations. That's something I think we've been struggling with," Lopez said Thursday. "We've been hitting, but not the way we should. From this point on, we have to concentrate in those situations."

The Bluefish went into Thursday's game against Lancaster three games out of playoff position in the wild card race. After that game, 17 games remained.

Lopez, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, turns 36 next month and has been in the lineup just about every night, though he lost two games last weekend to an allergic reaction. Going into Thursday, he had at least one hit in 81 of his 119 games.

Some of his other numbers, though, aren't where he's comfortable. He hit .315 for Bridgeport last year but was at a season-high .284 going into Thursday. He had 36 doubles last year and only 16 this year, so his slugging percentage is off almost 50 points.

Still, he's third on the team in both home runs (eight) and RBIs (70).

"I've learned a lot about myself," Lopez said. "It's the first time I've really kind of struggled -- not so much struggled as an up-and-down season, around .270 almost the whole year. I haven't gotten into a hot streak."

Maybe Wednesday's game can change that. He had a double, three singles and a sacrifice fly, driving in three runs.